Explorations in Metalsmithing: Hollow Fabrication

Variations on the Hollow Fabricated Ring

Explorations in Metalsmithing: Hollow Fabrication

Lesson 15 of 22

Variations on the Hollow Fabricated Ring

Lesson Info

Variations on the Hollow Fabricated Ring

The last thing I kinda want to talk about in this section before we move on and talk about lockets a little bit, is just kind of the steps if you were gonna do our second ring version here. And so I'll kind of explain them, and then if you guys need a little clarification hopefully now that you've seen this process you can visualize what this would look like. So we did our shape here for our cone, right, so the first step would be, I kind of feel like I want you guys to tell me what the steps are, this is a good challenge. So I've got my cone, what's my next step? I'll hold it somewhere where you can see maybe. Oh my God I don't know where to hold it! What's my, so I've got my cone, what's my next step?
Did you solder that piece?
I did not!
So I would say it's that--
That is my next step, absolutely! So I'd solder that seam. And then assuming, we'll assume any time we say the word "solder", that we're gonna pickle and clean and all of that good stuff. So after I do that, what's...

my next step?
Show us the seam.
So this is the seam.
Yep, thank you.
So if I have this and I'm trying to get to this, what's my next step?
Are you gonna cut out the, the wall shape, the big wall shape?
So this is technically my wall. That's where we're kind of thinking of, this is, 'cause there's no, this is a piece of wire. There's no wall here.
Then, what's the other term? The plane?
So, yes, so the plane, yeah. So this, our next step, is gonna be to solder on our flat plane and then trim that up just like that. Right?
Yeah.
Perfect. So then, our final step - I won't pick on you guys anymore because we haven't actually done this, so then our final step in this case is to put on this ring shank. And so, what I did here, instead of constructing something out of sheet or trying to fabricate, is I just used some round wire to make this ring shank. And so, I wanna say, to be perfectly honest on this one, I didn't do any measuring. I think I just eyeballed this one. So I said, okay you know, I think I used either some eight gauge or some ten gauge here. A lot of times what I'll do in my own studio even, is just cut this a little bit longer, so I'll cut it a little longer. Come over to my mandrel. I probably could've cut this even a little longer still. And I'll just bend it around. In this case, I'm not trying, I wasn't trying to get a complete circle. I was just trying to get a shape that hit the ends of my form, so I'll just kind of hammer this in place and then, it could be a little tighter, so I'll just smoosh it a little. This one is definitely -- so, sometimes I'm very exact and sometimes I do things like this, right? Like, hah, it fits on my finger, we're good, it's fine. Obviously, if you're making something, you know, that you're gonna sell where you need sizing, that's a little more critical. But so then, what I'll do here is I'll line this up, take my Sharpie and I just want, I don't know if you can see in our -- you can just see it here actually, or I'll come back here. There's just a little overhang in there, right? I left it kinda come in a little bit. So I'm just gonna, I would just measure here, measure there, but then I would, now I just need to cut this a little bit longer. And I would cut these ends off with my jeweler saw. It's gonna make it so much easier, it's so much less filing. So I would just come in with my jeweler saw, cut those ends off, file them just a little bit more so that they look nice and then the last step that I did in this process, before I soldered this ring shank on, was I actually took -- that's like an oval, I was like, that's not round. I took my round needle file and I went into my two little spots here and I basically just filed a little notch on either side, so it gave me a little essentially groove that this fit into, and then, I could just place a little piece of solder there, a little piece of solder on that side, set it up and solder. Make sense? Perfect. Alright, so are we good on questions from the Internet?
We are good.
Excellent. Alright, yeah.
Is there a reason that you didn't make that a ring and you made it...?
There isn't. I think the reason that I quite frankly did that is because I was using a really thick gauge and I didn't want to fight with getting it all the way around, but there is no reason that could not -- you could have made it a complete ring, there's no reason not to, I just didn't feel like fighting with that thick of a gauge to get a complete circle when I kind of, I personally like the aesthetic of things that aren't perfectly round rings, so it was mostly an aesthetic decision and partly a this is a faster workflow decision.

Class Description

There’s nothing quite like the magic of turning a two-dimensional sheet of metal into a three-dimensional form. In Explorations in Metalsmithing: Hollow Fabrication, you’ll learn how to create volume in metal through various forming and soldering techniques and how to take those forms and turn them into unique jewelry that will turn heads!

In this one of a kind class, designer and metalsmith Megan Auman will show you how to take your jewelry making skills to the next level to create unique and distinctive designs.

In this class, you will learn how to:

Make three-dimensional forms in metal - including spheres, cones, and organic shapes, and more.

Use hollow fabrication techniques to create your own ring.

Tackle more complicated soldering projects. (Without investing in more tools.)

Whether you’re just getting started in metalsmithing, or you’ve been dabbling for years, you’ll leave this class with the skills and ideas necessary to take your jewelry designs to the next level. Plus, you’ll learn how to create distinctive three-dimensional jewelry - perfect to wear, share, or sell! Join us for Explorations in Metalsmithing: Hollow Fabrication!

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After watching Megan solder in this class, I felt like it was something I could take on. There's a lot of soldering in this class! But there's also a lot you can do without soldering that's covered. I have a better understanding of how jewelry is made from this class. I'm looking at things that I own and thinking that I now know how to recreate them!